Bizarre water bill

We have a house we rent out for holidays. We received the water bill for it the other day. The actual water used was about £19 but all the add ons etc brought it up to £69. I think that’s shocking.

Yes, last year, a jump from £140 to £210 . I rang them and queried why an estimated bill - they had already taken the amount on direct debit. I was told I must have been out when the meter reader called . Silence at the other end when I said the meter was on the pavement so completely accessible and the man agreed to send out a meter reader. I refused to have any overpayment deducted from the next bill and insisted it was refunded. £70 subsequently appeared in my bank account.

Yes. Same here. Not by 33.3% but more than enough. Though to be fair, the connecting cable from the meter inside the house to wherever it is read outside has been inadvertently severed by a grandson who kindly trimmed the ivy. So an estimate is fair, except that now I am on my own, my usage has decreased!